Program Assessment

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I included the following passage in my statement of purpose when I submitted the application materials.

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“Bearing in mind the commitment to the future, and a better world, the College of Education seeks to empower the next generation of leaders in education by providing immersive experiences where students learn from hands-on research, cooperation with students and teachers within and outside the department. To move closer to my dreams, I think, this Ph.D. program is the best choice for me.”

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After a year of exploring what the department has to offer, I’ve now deepened my understanding of the quote above. Firstly, I really enjoy the design of the program of study. In my first semester, I got to learn some foundational courses related to LDT, including EDIT 8100E and EDIT 8190, which have equipped me with the basic knowledge in our field. The EDIT 8990 course has enabled us to further develop our ideas and receive more information. For example, this informative course provides me with more information about APA style, authorship, research proposal review & submission. Mostly, what I have enjoyed most about this seminar course is that we got to know all the faculty when they came to share their research interests and other related topics.

 

For the spring semester, I got a chance to further develop my research interest--- help-seeking in online learning and I started to take a cognate course related to the foundations of human development and a research method course about applied statistics methods in education. These two courses would help me in narrowing down my research interests and enabling me to use more specific methods for data collection and analysis. What’s more, I got to deepen my understanding of LDT by taking two compulsory courses: EDIT 8900E and EDIT 6170E, from which I got to know more about qualitative and quantitative research, data collection, and the well-known ADDIE model. All the courses and the guidance from instructors and peers have taught me how important it is to collaborate with others, which I am hoping to improve for the following semesters. 

 

I really enjoy the welcoming atmosphere of the LDT program. In addition to the constructive feedback from instructors and my supervisor, I’m equally grateful for all the help from the office staff here. For example, I am thankful to Kristi for the printing of the SoTL presentation slides and I am grateful to Tiffany for all the course registration-related work and meeting reimbursement. All their help has made the LDT a welcoming community and that means so much to me. Finally, I have learned a lot from my peers. Though we have diverse backgrounds, I really enjoy sharing ideas and talking with my peers. We have discussions during class meetings, and sometimes we go to the lake Herrick and the park for entertainment. Inspirations from peers keep me motivated.

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In terms of the suggestions for the program, I am hoping that more social or academic events can be provided to the community in the future. For example, I really enjoyed guest speeches speakers when I was seeking my master’s degree. We had had lots of online and face-to-face sessions with both the faculty and other leaders in the field of linguistics. I'm really looking forward to that in our department as well. Secondly, I am hoping to have more interactions with the LDT faculty. I can see brief introductions to their research interests and areas of expertise on the program website, but I think students could benefit from learning more about their research.

 

Self-assessment

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The road to a Ph.D. degree in any discipline is never easy and straight without any curves. You’ve got to go through lots of difficulties to even start. Luckily, I’ve officially started this great journey that requires resilience and perseverance. At the end of the first year, I’d like to talk about my experiences so far based on 2 separate but intertwined aspects, including my research interests and the coursework.

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What impressed me most was one of the pieces of advice my advisor, Dr. Stefaniak shared with me when we first met face-to-face. She told me not to focus on a single item as a first-year Ph.D. student, instead, I should delve into and digest as much stuff as possible since my interests did change. That’s exactly what I am experiencing now. At the start of the program, I had a rather broad question of “how to motivate students?” because it’s what brings me here to the program. I am just interested in exploring the ways technologies are used to facilitate learning and teaching. After doing some readings, I’ve learned to narrow down my research question to make it more concrete and feasible. Also, after a whole year of courses and other research proposals, I now begin to see things from different angles. For example, I now focus on how online learners seek help and how instructors offer help to maximize learners’ learning motivation. Many thanks again go to Dr. Stefaniak, who supports me all the way throughout the year. I learned the importance to develop my independent thinking and research interest with her guidance.

 

In terms of the coursework, it really benefits me to be exposed to different teaching methods, including lectures, seminars, directed studies, and of course online courses. What I find most rewarding are the multi-faceted delivery methods through which students can access different forms of study and progress as potential researchers. The courses I will choose in the summer semester further help me to delve into the quantitative methods and the broad topic of online learning and teaching.

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There are some areas that I am hoping to improve in the following semester. I am hoping to improve my verbal communicative skills through more interactions with peers and instructors. Besides, I am hoping to be more dedicated to deadlines. As a qualified Ph.D. student, I should know how to manage time and balance well life and study.

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To conclude, I am about to finish a rewarding first year. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Just as the saying goes, I am filled with hope and expectations about what I can experience in the days to come.